1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method for data processing in a mail-shipping system with a postage meter machine as well as to an arrangement for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In modern offices, producing documents such as letters ensues at the personal computer. The printed documents are manually placed in envelopes or are automatically stuffed in envelopes in a mail station with an envelope-stuffing system. Such mail stations also have postage meter machines available for use.
For systems which process a high volume of mail, the use of computer support is known to assist in franking the mail.
One of the improvements still needed for postage meter machines is to provide in creating flexibility with respect to the debiting vis-a-vis different carriers. Given the elimination of the governmental mail monopoly for sending letters in many countries, an increase in mail delivery by regional, national or international private carriers can be expected. It is known only for package shipping systems to prepare accounting statements for various carriers. This, however, does not involve an automatic postage calculation and acknowledgment with a franking imprint. A mail processing system is needed which allows for an economic service to be selected from different fee schedule structures of various carriers with the goal of a substantially automatic processing of the letter.
The problem of assuring the current nature of the carrier-related data must be solved if such a mail processing system is to be achieved. As is known, the automatic calculation of postage value can ensue on the basis of a stored postage fee table in a postage meter machine dependent on the weight of each letter among a series of letters that, before being placed in respective envelopes, are each produced with a text processing system on a personal computer in the office. The weight is measured by a postage scale which generates an electronic weight signal that is supplied to a connected postage meter machine. The postage meter machine is equipped with a control unit, memory means, input means, a modem or other data reception means, input/output control means, display means and a printer. A pre-paid credit balance value is stored non-volatilely in the memory means. After subtraction of the calculated postage value from the aforementioned credit balance value, a stationary printhead prints the franking imprint given simultaneous conveying of the letter. A printing width of approximately 1" is thereby achieved. So-called PC frankers are also known wherein the credit balance memories are implemented in specifically protected, additional hardware of the PC, with the franking imprint being carried out by a connected office printer. For assuring the accounting security, the franking imprint contains cryptographically encoded characters.
The postage fee tables are updated from time to time. Generally, the fees for specific carrier services are thereby raised, however, fundamentally new structures of the fees can also be defined. This applies to national postal services as well as to private carriers.
As long as franking systems are provided only for accounting with one carrier (previously, the national postal service), the invalidity of the old postage fee tables and the necessity of reloading a new table were sufficiently simple and infrequent so that they could be overseen by the meter manufacturer and user. A remote data center can then initiate the communication of a current table (as disclosed in German OS 28 03 982). When, however, the franking system is set up for accounting via-a-vis various carriers, a specific solution must be created so that the postage fee table that is valid for the selected carrier is always available.
In the simplest case, this could be accomplished by, after selection of the carrier, setting up a long-distance telephone connection to a remote data center that is operated by the manufacturer of the franking system or by the respective carrier, with the current postage fee table being transmitted into the franking system and stored therein. If a postage fee table of this carrier was already stored, an inquiry can be limited to whether a new one has become valid in the interim. A disadvantage of this system is comprised therein that costs that can reach the order of magnitude of the postage fees under certain circumstances are incurred for setting up the telephone connection.
An improved method requires this connection setup to be implemented only at certain times, for example the first time the franking system is turned on for the day, as disclosed in German OS 42 13 278. If, however, the franking system is not turned off on a daily basis and is instead operated in standby mode when franking is not being carried out, the connection setup for updating cannot be implemented.
Another solution is to have the respective carrier define the provisional validity duration of its postage fee table in advance, and this information is transmitted into the postage meter machine together with the table itself. The expiration date set by the respective carrier is then stored therein for that carrier, and a connection for transferring a new postage fee table is automatically initiated when this date arrives, as was disclosed in German application P 195 49 305.2-53, corresponding to co-pending U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,813. Given unscheduled, short-term changes in the fees, however, a readjustment of every machine in use would then have to be carried out by a service technician.
European Application 493 948 discloses a coupling to a personal computer in order to use this as an input means. The postage fees are stored in various registers that are allocated to various authorities, however, this publication does not describe whether and how these authorities are selected by the customer or how an allocation ensues. This specific solution for a postage meter machine stores the debiting data for various services. A disadvantage of this known system is the outlay arising due to the need for a separate interface between the postage meter machine and a work station used as the input means. A separate printer is connected to the separate interface in order to print out debiting (accounting) reports.
German OS 39 03 718 also discloses a coupling to a personal computer in order to print out department-related accounting data via a separate printer. A disadvantage is that a control unit must be connected as a separate device between the individual devices such as the scale, the postage meter machine and the personal computer. The employment of manually plugged chip cards in order to enter accounting reports into the personal computer, moreover, represents an impediment for automation of the production of accounting reports.
European Application 600 749 discloses a mail processing machine with a bar code user interface. Commands for controlling the mail processing machine are entered via a bar code reader pen (wand). This, however, requires a catalog having a list of bar code commands, and manual sampling thereof. A manual positioning of a reader pen and sampling for entering commands reduces the input dependability as well as an assumption of responsibility on the part of the user, i.e., one must assume that the user would not undertake any manipulation with fraudulent intent. As a guard against misuse, no commands that could be misused with fraudulent intent can be found in the list. An entry of unlisted commands effecting a falsification, i.e., a correspondingly generated bar code, however, cannot be prevented. Most steps have been taken to insure that the sequence of the bar code inputs can only ensue according to the sequence of pieces of mail supplied.
European Patent 498 955 discloses a method and an arrangement for sending electronically stored letter contents, whereby the scale can be eliminated because the postal matter contains only one insert that always has the same weight. The pieces of mail contain chip cards that are placed in addressed envelopes. A franking tape is printed in the postage meter machine or the addressed envelope is franked before the envelope stuffing. This known arrangement, however, does not afford the possibility of supplying the mailings to the postage mater machine unordered with several, or different, inserts without again having to utilize a scale for determining the weight. A personal computer serves as an input means for entering the shipping data into the postage meter machine, which undertakes the accounting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,506 discloses a mail processing system with a number of devices that operate in a PC-supported manner and already have connected postage meter machines available. The individual devices carry out functions for recompilation of the letters, namely in the sequence of the postal area codes of their addresses. The aforementioned functions includes opening letters, sensing specific locations, possibly reprinting the letter or comments, folding, envelope-stuffing, postage calculation and sorted deposit or, bundling. Some public mail carriers offer discounts for postal matter pre-sorted in this way. This method is complicated insofar as it may require another printout of the letter. Installation of a high-performance computer is required in the mail station, which must be operated by appropriately trained personnel.
German OS 38 08 178 discloses a mail processing system with a first computer that produces the documents on fan-fold paper and that is in communication with a second computer that controls devices in the mail station. The communication is achieved by markings printed on the document and, by a communication element. The envelope stuffing, addressing and franking of the mail can be indirectly controlled by a printed coding identifying the respective piece of mail. Parameter values that are employed for controlling the envelope stuffing, addressing and franking of the mail are allocated to these identification codings in a data bank. The data bank is connected to the second computer to which the respective identification coding of the piece of mail is communicated via a connected sensor means. The address printing in the mail station is emphasized in this document as an advantage in view of the easy, subsequent modification of, among other things, the addressing of stuffed envelopes, and thus avoiding a bill-like appearance of the envelopes that is associated with window envelopes.
Such window envelopes are allegedly not opened by some recipients because they may contain bills. Apart from the fact that it would be senseless not to open window envelopes because they may contain bills, since cost-increasing reminders would be delivered anyway to such companies or persons, window envelopes nonetheless are not favored by many mailers. This disfavor against printing an address when preparing the letter at a location which will be visible through an envelope window, and against employing window envelops per se, leads to the aforementioned equipping of the mail station with complicated technology. When settings must be undertaken in the mail station in order to utilize beneficial services of a different private carrier, however, even the aforementioned equipping of the mail station with complicated technology still proves inadequate because correspondingly more highly qualified employees are then required. The weight and the postage amount are identified before resending postal matter. In conjunction with the increasing proliferation of private carriers competing with one another, beneficial special fee schedules for transport services and service performances related thereto are also being increasingly offered. A reduction of the weight by reducing the number of inserts for the envelope often suffices for meeting the prerequisites for making use of such special fee schedules. A great deal of redundancy and design latitude in the informational offering exists in direct marketing. For example, the format, the number of lines, letter height, etc., could be optimized for cost reasons. The number of pages could also be reduced when preparing the letter. The employees in the mail station, however, are not in a position to undertake such entries or modifications in the data bank. The employees of the mail station would then have to instruct the other employees whose produce the letter contents, or these mail station employees would have to make such changes themselves. Such a procedure, however, would only lead to unnecessary delays in the mail processing.